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"Not the promised land,
flowing with milk and
honey," would-be British
settlers were warned in
1764 of islands including
Dominica, last in the
Caribbean to be colonized.
Early Spanish explorers
gave it a wide berth after
encountering hostile Carib
Indians who had arrived
from South America around A.D . 1000. Britain
took permanent control in 1805 after vying with
France during the 18th century. Dominicans,
most of whom descend from African slaves,
celebrated independence from Britain in 1978,
but their euphoria was tempered by Hurricane
David's devastation the next year.
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AREA: 290 sq mi (751 sq km).
POPULATION: 83,000.
CITIES: Roseau (capital), 30,000;
Portsmouth, 5,000. LANGUAGE: English,
French patois. RELIGION: 80% Roman Catholic.
ECONOMY: Bananas, coconuts, citrus.
had a right to do so. The enemy had to find an
excuse, some false propaganda, to justify their
actions. There may have been ritual use of
enemy remains, but we have no tradition, no
oral history, of cannibalism."
Irvince dreams of a better life for his people
while preserving their dimming ethnic iden
tity. "We have come to realize that Carib
people are a nation, a tribe," he said.
"Descendants of African slaves are today
doctors and lawyers. We need Carib doctors
and lawyers, and we need our own secondary
schools if our children are to remain Carib.
Most of all we need our own financial institu
tion so Carib people can use their land, which
is held in common, as collateral for loans. We
could then begin to build an economic base."
What are the chances of such autonomy?
"I might not see it," he admitted, "but I'm
thinking of my children. There are laws to pre
serve the wildlife of Dominica. Surely the na
tive people of Dominica should be preserved."
It may well be too late, according to Domini
ca's president, Clarence A. Seignoret, a cor
dial, powerfully built man of 71 who is himself
the grandson of a Carib.
"They've lost their language," he told me.
"Apart from a few of the old ones, there are no
pure-blooded Caribs. They are already inte
grated into Dominican society. At this point I
truly feel it is better for them."
IWAS INTRODUCED to the president one
Saturday morning as he relaxed in his
pajamas on the second-floor balcony of
his home on Cork Street in downtown
Roseau, watching the passing scene. Saturday
is market day, and the narrow streets of the
capital were filled with people and pickups
converging on the market square, where the
Roseau River meets the sea.
Some 30,000 people live in and around
Roseau, named for a local reed. A few substan
tial buildings from colonial days still stand,
but mainly the streets are lined with modest
two-story structures, some leaning on their
neighbors for support but many others in good
repair, painted in pleasantly clashing tropical
colors. Retail shops on the ground floors com
pete with innumerable sidewalk vendors, all
of whom seem to be hawking the same T-shirts
and trinkets. At the dozen or so cafes a thirsty
visitor can drink his fill of fresh juices-pas
sion fruit, tamarind, soursop, grapefruit. He
can sink his teeth into a double-dip ice-cream
National Geographic,June 1990
108